The Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT) was first staged at the Queensland Art Gallery in 1993. It has since become the Gallery’s flagship international contemporary art exhibition, and remains the only major exhibition series in the world to focus on the contemporary art of Asia, the Pacific, and Australia.
Each edition of the APT has taken a forward-thinking approach to examining how contemporary artists address questions of geography, history, and culture, and the complexity of the region is reconsidered each time.
The APT is distinguished by its extensive acquisition program and commissioning focus. The Gallery has built its collections in tandem with the APT series, becoming an international leader in collecting and presenting Asian and Pacific contemporary art. Through the Australian Centre of Asia Pacific Art (ACAPA), the research arm of the Gallery’s Asian and Pacific activities, the APT has promoted the research, documentation, publication, acquisition, and exhibition of Asian and Pacific art, and supported residencies and internships for artists, scholars, and museum professionals in the field.
Through twenty years of ongoing attention to diverse practices, working closely with advisors and co-curators, and framed by intensive dialogue and debate, the APT has mapped changing cultural landscapes and has encouraged a detailed and nuanced appreciation of contemporary art from across the region.
The success of the APT was crucial in the development of the Queensland Art Gallery’s second site, the Gallery of Modern Art, to present the exhibition and house the collection. Dedicated facilities for the Australian Cinémathèque and Children’s Art Centre have enabled the Gallery to expand its innovative Kids’ APT program and feature extensive cinema programs as integral elements of the Triennial.
